The Director
Amnesty International
Dear Sir/Madam:
On 24 June 2010 I was arrested by Raa Atoll Ungoofaaru Police Station where I was charged with “attempted suicide by overdozing on less than a gram of hash oil, atheism and homosexuality.”
However, quite strangely, only a vague reference to “drug abuse” appeared on the Court Order for my arrest.
While the officers of the Maldives Police Service at Male’ Custodial were very kind to me – understandably, due to my parents refusing to allow my transfer to house arrest due to the gravity of the charges – I feel vulnerable against corrupt elements, the remnants of former President Gayoom’s dictatorship, rampant in the Maldives Judiciary and other law enforcement agencies.
I also feel defenceless against extremists of all sorts and the extreme ideas prevailing in Maldives society, especially in relation to previous contributions to Minivan News.
Hence, I would greatly appreciate if you can help me find temporary asylum in a friendly democratic country until I feel it is safe for me to return to Maldives and continue my investigative work as a freelance journalist and independent blogger promoting human rights.
Thanking you in advance for your kind cooperation.
Yours sincerely,
Ismail Khilath Rasheed
CC: Human Rights Commission of Maldives
U.N.C.H.R.
Reporters Without Borders
All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to submit a letter, please send it to [email protected]
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Dear Amnesty International,
In time, Maldivian authorities will attempt to convince you that Hilath is exagurrating about the reality of his oppression, as per his appeal to you for help. Please, I know Hilath, and the persecution he is experiencing is real, although his persecutors deny this to be the case. Hilath is oppressed and is a victim in a very cruel, barbaric, inolerant society which has a very compelling facade of paradise and innocence. This is the reason Maldivians find it hard to convince Westerners that their oppression and persecution is real. But it is real!
It is about time that the liberal Maldivian mask be exposed for what it is, an extremely well designed mask of liberty and innocence, compassion and serenity which hides the real Maldivian society. The real Maldivian society is absolutely intolerant, ruthless, power hungry, deceiptful, immoral, corrupt, dictatorially possesive and violently jealous to the core.
Yet these qualities are so carefully hidden.
For example, you ask a Maldivian woman if she is ok with her husband reading about Sufism. She will say, oh yes, he is free to do what he wants, but then he gets a damn blast for it, in secret, and when the man complains, noone believes him because she is sooo damned good at portraying herself as the victim.
That is the other thing, the tyrants are so capable of portraying themselves as the victim that the academy award nominees in hollywood have got got nothing on them. If a Maldivian wants to destroy someone, the whole world will believe he/she who is being pursued for destruction is worse than Hitler.
You ask a Maldivian in power about religious freedom, they will say, oh yes we don't really mind if a Maldivian converts to Christianity or atheism, we are free ppl so long as they do not offend our religion or try to convert others, as Maldivians do find that deeply agonising.' Westerners smile, oh, how lovely and liberal these beautiful Maldivians are!! I wish all Muslims could be like that! But then, if a Maldivian does admit he is an atheist or has slightly different views, they are accussed of insulting the religion and all sorts of outrageous accusations and lies are made up about them. They are demonized like you could barely imagine.
Maldivians are better liars than sicillians, they lie with this beautiful, serene, compassionate mask and melt and tear the hearts of any westerner they talk too. They could convince a Western man that his beautiful, faithful wife was a tyrannical murderous prostitute... Maldivian's have had to perfect the art of deceipt and dishonesty for survival for so long that the whole world is fooled into believing that they are all a nation of cute little, innocent angels, where as underneath the mask, well hidden is the truth, tyranny and power hungry control freaks hide behind those masks... Western world, it is about time the Maldives is exposed for what it is, hell hidden in a facade of paradise and freedom... Please, don't buy the lies about Hilath's oppression not being real..
Hilath's oppression is REAL!!! The persecution he is experiencing is horrific! What is especially tragic is when a Maldivian pleas to the Western world for help, and the Western world rejects the Maldivian because of the compassionate facade the persecutors reveal to the West. This leaves the oppressed feeling rejected, alienated and without hope from those who have promised the world that they can deliver liberty and freedom to all. Abandoned by those who they count on to help, rejected, crushed by their own people, the pain becomes unbearable, and what eventuates usually, is suicide. Look at the case of Ismail Mohamed Didi, who committed suicide because he could not get help from abroad due to the persecution he endured for admitting he was an atheist.
Hilath is a very creative, an extraordinarily gifted writer, and he would be an immensely beautiful gift to any society which accepts him. Please accept him, somebody, I promise you, and thousands of Hilath lovers will testify, that he would prove an artistic blessing to your society.
Kindest Regards
isn't this like the majority of the population not wanting to legalise same sex marriages? what is there to be so oppressed about? he is in jail for breaking a couple of laws. maybe the jail has all sort of people. i live in Male' and there are killings and rape and etc etc. so should i write to the AI because there are other countries where i can live without the fear of being raped or murdered? lets not forget that the majority of Maldives population practice Islam as a religion...
wish you all the best hilath
completely with you Hilath.
Nobody has to live with daily death threats and all such garbage like Hilath is forced to do, just because he dares to voice his opinion against extremist elements in this society.
We will miss you dearly Hilath, and Maldives will be a bit poorer for loosing out on a Maldivian son like you who actually cares about this society.
But we'd rather you lived in peace somewhere then die a slow death here.
RED ALERT! DON'T LEAVE HILATH ALONE EVEN FOR A SECOND! HE NEEDS A TRUE GUARDIAN ALL THE TIME.
I believe all of you are utterly mistaken.Read his letter once more, carefully. Or read it at least 10 times. 😉 I am worried for him. He is a brother to us in humanity and as a countryman.
Doesn't matter his views as of now, his safety & wellbeing is more important.
May Allah give guidance to Khilath Rasheed (Hilath), and give him courage to repent and face the reality with wisdom and calm.
Hilath is a true patriot, who risked his life to expose the crimes of the extremists. And for that, he is labeled as "anti-islamic" or "gay" or whatever by the so-called muslims.
Many are those who seek to maliciously label him with lies and slander out of hatred and fear.
Let them know that we will not forgive their arrogance, and we will not forget their crimes.
But many more will remember his noble deeds in service of our great nation, and be thankful.
@ someone who cares
(on Sun, 25th Jul 2010 2:23 PM)
"Maldivians are better liars than sicillians, they lie with this beautiful, serene, compassionate mask and melt and tear the hearts of any westerner they talk too."
Dear brother (or may be sister?),
You have forgotten that Hilath too is a Maldivian!
Your letter to AI has less than an ounce of truth in it. You have tried to portray a very false impression of Maldives. Most of what you have said in that letter is nothing but UTTER TOSH!
I am saddened to know that people like you make me believe there is a hidden agenda in all this!
Well, Robin... Our agenda is not hidden. It is quite clear. It is simply this... we demand our right to be human beings! we have been subjugated for so long that the time is coming that we would rather die than have to live in fear of being who we really are... we have no agenda except to be happy! that is no hidenness about it...
and on maldivians, well, that part i take back, i was talking out of rage and frustration! I said things I did not mean.. I actually love Maldivians deeper than what you could imagine. I would like to be able to suffer hell to free Maldivians from the tyranny's experienced because I do feel Maldivians are so special. Yet when Maldivians are prisoners of conscience, I am outraged and say all sorts of shit... But I would gladly die for a maldivian because I do care for the dhivehin. But Robin, love is also hate at times...
Robin, the truth still is, human rights are repressed in Maldives, and that is cruel...
of course why the hell would i love my maldivian family so much and believe they are the most intelligent ppl in the world if I really felt that they were trash... I have a love hate relationship, but more than anything, overall, it is all deep deep love...
@ someone who cares
Why then do you project Maldives as a place where life is impossible for anyone?
Why then do you enjoy spreading such a colossally wrong picture about Maldives?
In your letter to Amnesty International, there is hardly an adjective left that you have not used to derogatorily describe Maldives, Maldivians and Maldivian society.
“…we demand our right to be human beings!”
Who is ‘we’ in this?
Who is denied the right to be human beings?
Or is this just another falsehood that you are spreading “out of rage and frustration?”
Talking out of rage and frustration does not mean you can say anything you want.
Why don’t you ACT instead of talk?
If you love Maldivians so much, I presume you love Maldives too as much. So instead of painting the grim picture you did, why don’t you contribute your share of labour to make this country a better place?
robin; maldivians are (mostly) hypocrites and live a double life. they have lost their identity and are both sexaholic adulterers and kafir-hating fundamanetalist muslims at the same time. we complain about western nations banning minarets and faceveil; saying that it they are violating muslims' rights. but we call for the death of any muslim who is convinced and from the bottom of his heart believe islam is not the right path. we hate the west, and curse them for our imaginary 'crusade against muslims'; but we are huge fans of hollywood, and us TV shows. we curse jews and israel on national television and all medias everyday; and we accept any generous aid from them. we say hindus are dumb and think stones can speak. we say this in schools and on pulpits. but we all love bollywood and indian tvshows, and invite salman khann and bajaj to come and dance. we call anyone who dont wear the veil a slut, we 'expose' private affairs between two people in love; yet we go to bangkok brothels and we buy sex from gullible teenagers and cheat our partners. we demonstrate against selling alcohol on inhabited island (only for tourists), yet we go to resorts and srilanka to drink and party. neglecting fajr prayer is ok, but if someone does not fast on a ramadan day he must be arrested apparently. friday prayers obligatory, maghrib prayers not so much.
that is the hypocrisy of an average maldivian. now dont even get me started with the wahhabi extremists. they are the definition of hypocrisy and misogyny. but i suppose you have already heard about this bunch enough. if not, do check my blog.
@ rayyithukaloa
“robin; maldivians are (mostly) hypocrites and live a double life.”
I actually agree with a lot of what you said.
But I do not agree that the hypocritical nature you described can be applied to MOST Maldivians. Nor do i agree that what you described is the hypocrisy of an AVERAGE Maldivian. What you described is the minority.
Nowhere in the world can you find 100 percent saints. So Maldives is no exception.
Take any country at random and try to categorise the people in such terms. You will find a good number of them fit as hypocrites. But that in no way justify us to be hypocrites. Yes, we do need to work on this to make Maldives a better place.
As per your suggestion, i did check your blog.
A few things struck me.
1. You can write! And write very well, I must admit. I liked your style and I found it captivating. I am impressed.
2. The three articles you have written so far are personal attacks on people. According to you, Gabey Latheef has something wrong with his brain, Shaheem is a Khaainu and Zakir Naik is a Roanu Edhuru. While reading your blog, there were moments I wondered whether your ideas are any better than those of conspiracy theorists.
3.If your level of writing Dhivehi is focussed on personal attacks, I think it is a huge, huge waste. I wish you would rather focus writing on topics that would contribute in a positive way. Also, I hope you get a wider audience. Wish you good luck on that!
Keep writing!
In this country, when he fought to expose the lies of the terrorists and fundamentalists, he is ostracized and labeled "unislamic".
In a better nation under a government that serves the people; Hilath would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for bravery above and beyond the call of duty in fighting the good fight against the enemies of the free world.
We are with you Hilath! You'll always be a hero...
@ahmed aliased you watch too many movies.You are a funny guy go IMDB and find better lines hahah you are pathetic, haha Hilath is not anyone freedom fighter he just some woman's scapegoat. Another poster boy for religious freedom.Good luck with the HRCM.
Haleef, You insinuate that I watch too many movies, and yet you tell me to go to IMDB and get better lines.
Why should I borrow from movies when I can express what needs to be said?
Now, your second insinuation;"Hilath is not anyone's freedom fighter" do you have proof to back up your statement?.
Until you can back it up, I will believe you're just another weakling who is too scared to stand against the so-called "cultural masters" who leave only injustice, cruelty and suffering in their wake.
Be that way. I care not.
PS: I don't care about the HRCM either.
Dear Aliased for your information my comment was modified as to some points I made about Hilath journalism has been removed.I believe Hilath doesn't have the courage to say what he wants he hides behind this veil of liberal moderate muslim. Hilath journalism is simple google I hope this is moderate enough comment for the editor
Is that so...
So you claim to be edited out, while all your base insults are intact.
I find that hard to believe. Until you have actual, solid evidence of your claims, they will just remain that - claims.
I still say you're worried about "preserving maslahath".
khilath, why dont u go a country like mexico so that u can do what u want.
Mexico? That is what Maldives will look like like soon
As a concerned friend, I pray to Allah to guide Khilath to the correct path and protect him
There is no point to debate on this. It will be better for Hilath and others alike to get asylum in friendly countries where drug and homosexuality are norms. Hilath , without any doubt will progress in these countries. He got no place in the Maldives.
Dear AI,
Please expedite his transfer to another country, say like Australia. Then like that rightful king of Maldives living in exile in New Zealand, Hilath can bark as much as he want over there and we wont have to worry about him.
Thank you
@al, yes. You hope that his expose's against the hypocrite society will be whitewashed over and forgotten soon.
Unfortunately for you and your ilk - we do not forget. More so - we do not forgive.
You know what?. You should worry. You should be afraid. The time comes when the common citizens will overthrow they tyranny of the past.
You and your ilk will try to clamp down on rebellion - by using every dirty trick in the book and then some. Slander, lies, deception, ostracism and even murder.
Be assured; those old tricks won't work so easily anymore.